NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union says deputies at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail held a paranoid schizophrenic for months without giving him psychiatric medicine or treating injuries inflicted by other inmates and himself.

A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges that when 52-year-old Roger Mason was moved to a state mental hospital a year ago, he had a stinking, infected wound from a rag he had bound around his wrist.

It says three broken ribs and an open wound on his back also went untreated during months in jail. Mason was arrested Aug. 18, 2009, for allegedly throwing cake at a relative's neighbor.

Parish Attorney Clifton Speed said Tuesday he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment. Neither Sheriff Daniel Edwards nor District Attorney Scott Perrilloux immediately returned calls.